Heading-machine.



R. A. PORTER.

HEADING. MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT-3.1913.

Patented July 13, 1915.

3 SHEETSSHEET I.

R. A. ORTER.

HEADING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED SEPT-3.1913.

1 1 %,9 1 9 PatentedJuly 13, 1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

,' COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH CO.,WASNINGTON. n. c.

R. A. PORTER.

HEADING MACHINE.

ROBERT A. PORTER, 0F SHARON, KANSAS.

HEADING-MACHINE.

miners.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July is, rare.

Application filed September 3, 1913. Serial No. 787,910.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that 1, ROBERT A. Pon'rnn,citizen of the United States, residing at Sharon, in the county ofBarber and State of Kansas, have invented certa-in'new and usefulImprovements in Heading-Machines, of which the following is aspecification.

The subject matter of the present inven tion relates broadly toharvesting machines and is directed particularly to new and usefulimprovements in that type of such inventions known as headers.

As its principal object the present invention aims to provide a headerin which the cutting mechanism and elevator is mounted in a supportingframe adapted to be detachably secured'to the sideboard of a wagon bodyso that the heads of the grain may be cut and conveyed into the wagonand the header removed for application to another wagon immediately uponthe filling of the wagon to which it is attached.

An object of equal importance with the foregoing is to construct theheader of this invention with such regard to proportion and arrangementof parts that it may be cheaply manufactured, will be efficient anddurable in its action and may be readily used in connection with wagonbodies of any type, it being only necessary in this operation to tightena pair of set screws in order to insure the secure attachment of theheader.

A still further object is to mount the elevator with such relation tothe supporting frame that its upper terminal will, be disposedinteriorly of the wagon body side,thus insuring the complete deposit ofthe grain heads in the wagon body.

An object coexisting in importance with the foregoing is to providemeans for the vertical adjustment of the cutting mecha nism and elevatorso that while the supporting frame maybe fixedly secured to the wagonbody, the cutting mechanism and the elevator may be vertically adjustedto any height within a reasonable range, thus making it possible toemploy the header in harvesting grains of varying heights such as Kafircorn, milo, broom corn, cane'and the like. r

A. still further object resides in the provision of a novel form ofgrain knife con structed in the nature of two elongated bars which havesharpened cutting edges and are mounted in fixed relation to each otherand are appended hereto and form a arranged with their cutting edgesforwardly dlverging so that they act in the manner of a flared mouththroat which receives the grain and cuts it by the urging of the grainstalks into engagement with the cutting edges. 1

A yet further object contemplates the provision of an auxiliary cuttingelement which is rotatably mounted at the inner ends of the knifeelements referred to above; this rotary knife element being adapted toprevent clogging of the fixed bar knives by severing all grain stalkswhich may choke at the convergent. terminals of the fixed knives.

An additional object is to provide a novel form ofguide'for directingthe grain heads from the cutting mechanism on to the elevator.

A yet further object resides in the provision of a movable grain guidingdevice which is superimposed above the bar knives and is adapted toswing across these elements at predetermined intervals urging the grainagainst the innermost of the bar knives and subsequently directing itonto the elevator.

cent terminal on the grain guide.

The above and additional objects are accomplished by such means as areillustrated inthe accompanying drawings, described in the followingspecification, and then more particularly pointed out in the claimswhich part of this application.

l/Vith reference to the drawings, wherein V is illustrated the preferredembodiment of the invention as it is reduced to practice, and throughoutthe several views of which simi lar reference numerals designatecorresponding parts: Figure 1 is a perspective view illustrating theheaderin assembled relation to a Wagon body; Fig. 2 is a top planillustrating the header 'with the cutting .mechanism, elevator andvariousother associated mechanisms in assembled relation; Fig. 3 is arear end elevation; Fig. 4 is a section on the line 44: of Fig.3; Fig. 5is a. detail view of the gear wheel which is ap plied to the hub of oneof the rear wheels of the wagon and is operatively connected to turewhich might be removably attached to minal tothe outerend of thehorizontal leg a wagon body, the various cutting devices, grain guidesand mechanism whereby they are vertically adjusted, may be readilyemployed with requisite efiiciency in a header of the wheeled typewithout departing in any way from the spirit of this invention.

Proceeding now to the description of the drawings, it has been founddesirable for the sake of clearness to classify the several coactingelements of the header as follows: 1. The main supporting frame whichreceives the harvesting mechanism and is designed for attachment to awagon body. 2. The supporting body or frame in which the cuttingmechanism and elevator are immediately mounted and which is mounted forVertical adjustment on the first mentioned supporting frame. 3. Themeans employed in accomplishing the vertical adjustment of this'lastmentioned frame. l. The cutting mechanism itself and the grain guidesassociated therewith, and the elevator which is employed in conductingthe severed grain heads from the knives into the wagon body.

Taking up therefore as first in order the description of the mainsupporting frame, this element of the invention includes a pair ofbracket irons 10 and 11 which are substantially L-shaped in conformationand are preferably formed of rod steel or any other similar durablemetal. The upper terminals of the vertical legs of these members 10 andf the jumping of the supporting frame from the sideboard of the wagonmay be effectually guarded against.

The. two bracket irons 10 and 11 are, as best illustrated in Fig. 4-,braced by a transverse bar 16 which is connected at one ter- 17 of themember 11 and to an approximately central point of the horizontal arm 18of the member 10. In this connection it is to be observed that thehorizontal arm 17 is I approximately equal to one-half the length of themember 18, the obvious purpose of this being to provide space in whichthe gear wheels of the knife driving mechanism may be accommodated in amanner to be hereinafter fully disclosed in the description devoted tothe cutting mechanism proper.

One terminal of the member 16 which is secured to the horizontal arm 17is held in. fixed position by means of a vertically arranged standard 19which consists preferably of a metal rod the lower terminal of which isscrew threaded and projected through registering openings formed in themember 17 and adjacent terminal of the member 16. Looking nuts andwashers are threaded on the member 19 and are clamped against theopposite faces of the members 16 and 17 as indicated at 20 and 21. Theother and forward terminal of the member 16 is secured to the horizontalarm 18 in a somewhat similar manner by the insertion of one lee of theU-shaped standard 22 through registering apertures formed in the members16 and 18 as will be readily observed upon reference to Fig. 1. Inclamping the forward terminal of the member 1-; to the arm 18 in thedesired manner, locking nuts 23 are threaded on the inserted terminal ofthe member 22 and are arranged to clamp against opposite faces of themembers 16 and 18 in a manner previously ascribed to the locking nuts 20and 21.

The purpose of the single rod standard 19 and U-shaped standard 22 willnow become apparent in connection with the description of the cuttingmechanism and elevator supporting frame which is taken up as next inorder.

As previously set forth the supporting frame in which the cuttingmechanism and elevator are immediately mounted is adapted for verticaladjustment with respect to the main supporting frame above described.There has therefore been provided a metallic frame which is preferablyformed of a single length of metal and is bent to produce the four sidebars 24, 25, 26 and 27. As will be observed upon reference to Fig. 4-particularly the member 24- is bent inwardly and thence rearwardly toproduce a cutaway corner as at 28. There is thus formed a substantiallyrectangular frame one corner. of which is removed to provide space toaccommodate the pinions and associated elements by which the cuttingmechanism is actuated. Relative to the preferred structure of this lastmentioned frame it is of course to be observed that if desired thevarious members 24, 25, 26, 27 and 28 may be made separately and boltedor otherwise secured in assembled relation in any desired and well knownmanner.

In mounting the cutter and elevator frame for vertical adjustment thepresent invention employs a pair of vertically arranged tubular sleeves29 and 30 which are mounted for sliding movement on the vertical legs ofthe member 22 and are secured in fixed relation to the portion of theframe by means of U bolts 31. A tubular sleeve 32 similar to the members29 and 30 is secured at its lower terminal to the member 27 by a U boltindicated at 33 and is mounted for sliding movement on the single rodstandard 19 which as previously set forth extends upwardly from the rearterminals of the member 16 and bracket iron 17. The upper terminals ofthe sleeves 29, 30 and 32 are secured by U bolts 34, 35 and 36respectively, to a pair of bar members 37 and 38 which support thecutting knives as will be described in detail hereinafter. As a meansfor operating this adjustable frame there has been provided a bell cranklever 39 pivoted as at 40 to a dependent bracket 41 which extends fromthe horizontal arm 18 of the bracket iron 10 and carries a toothedsector clutch plate 42. The vertically arranged arm 43 of the bell cranklever is of course equipped with a pawl and operating means indicated asan entirety at 44 so that the arm 45 may be held in the desired adjustedposition. The free terminal of the arm 45 is pivotally secured by apivot pin 46 between the lower terminals of a pair of dependent bracketirons 47 and 48 which extend in parallel spaced relation to one anotherand are bolted or otherwise suitably secured at their upper terminals toopposite sides of the member 28 and at the inner corner thereof as willbe readily observed upon reference to Figs. 3 and 4 in which thisfeature of the invention is best illustrated.

From the foregoing it is obvious that the driver of the wagon may bymanipulating the lever arm 43 raise or lower the entire frame composedof the members 24, 25, 26, 27 and 28 to any desired position. Aspreviously set forth the desirability of making this frame which carriesthe cutting mechanism and elevator vertically adjustable resides in thefact that this header is intended to be employed in harvesting Kafircorn, milo maize, Indian corn, broom corn, cane, and grains of a likenature the stalks of which are of varying lengths.

l/Vhile the lever arm 45has been illustrated as being manually operable,it is, of course, obvious that if so desired a foot controlled devicemay be employed for operatively connecting the lever arm 43 to one ofthe axles or wheels of the wagon, so that the rotation thereof mayaccomplish the adjustment of the arm 45.

The frame members 37 and 38 referred to above are in the preferred formsuperimposed above the lower frame members 25 and 27, being secured attheir inner terminals to the sleeves 29, 30 and 32 by U-bolts, aspreviously described, and are held in the desired spaced relation andbraced at their forward portions by means of the strap braces,indicated. at 49 and 50. These strap braces are bolted or otherwisesecured in any desired manner. It has been found expedient in someinstances to provide an additional brace for the members 38 and 27, asindicated at 51 in Fig. 3. This brace 51 in the preferred form is ametal strap, similar to the members 49 and 50, and is bolted orotherwise secured at its terminals, as at 52, to the members 38 and 27,being diagonally directed with respect to the horizontal plane thereof.The member 38 extends beyond the outside frame member 24, and is bent atright angles to itself to extend parallel therewith and exteriorlythereof, producing a bar or supporting beam 53 which extendslongitudinally of the header, reference being had in this respect to theline of draft thereof. A somewhat similar beam 54 is arranged interiorlyof the member 53 being substantially lL-shaped in conformation andhaving its transverse portion 55 secured to the transverse portion 38 ofthe member 53 by the U bolt 36, being also held in the desired positionby means of the bolts by which the upper terminals of the braces 49 and51 are attached to the member 38. These two members 53 and 54 arepreferably made of l. beams, being disposed with the lateral portions ofthe beams in a horizontal plane as indicated at 56. These hori zontalportions 56 of the members 53 and 54 serve as ledges or supportingflanges for the fixed bar knives.

Coming therefore to the description of the cutting mechanism which aspreviously stated includes a pair of fixed bar knives and a rotatableknife, it will be observed upon reference to Fig. I particularly thatthese bar knives which are respectively designated as entireties by thenumerals 57 and 58, consist essentially in a pair of flat metal platesthe adjacent edges of which are formed with scalloped cutting edgesindicated at 59. These members 57 and 58 are bolted or otherwise securedon the portions 56 of the supporting beams 53 and 54 and are arrangedwith their cutting edges 59 inwardly converging, thus producing a V-shaped throat into which the grain is urged by the movement of the wagonin a manner to be hereinafter disclosed in the description of theoperation of the header.

The rotary knife indicated at 60 is preferably formed in the nature of afan shaped blade having a central hub to receive the rotating shaft 61and provided at opposite sides of its two arms with knife edges as at62. The shaft 61 is journaled at its upper terminal in a plate 64 whichis secured to the corner portion of the beam 54 and is arranged so thatthe cutting edge 62 of the knife 60 will pass across the spacecomprehended between the inner terminals of the knives 57 and 58. Thisarrangement is necessary in order that the grain stalks clogging at theinner end of the knife throat may be severed and directed across theinwardly disposed knife 58 on to the elevator which will be described indetail hereinafter.

Spacing collars indicated at 63 are arranged on each side of the knife60 for an obvious purpose. On the upper terminal of the shaft 61 andkeyed thereon for rotation with the knife 60 is a cam bar 65 the arms orextensions 66 of which are oppositely curved and are designed to bearagainst the movable grain guide 67 in advance of the cutting edges 62,the construction of which is to be now disclosed. This member 67 isformed from a length of resilient wire of heavy gage, although it hasbeen found desirable when the grain is particularly heavy to employresilient steel rods of small diameter. In constructing the member 67the rod or wire is bent to produce a U shaped conformation the upper armbeing bent to form a claw or hook shaped guide finger 68 and the lowerarm being angularly and inwardly directed as at- 69 and subsequentlydirected downwardly as at '70and thence returned in the'direction of theportion 69, being terminally wound around the spindle 71 to produce ahelical spring 73. The upper extreme terminal of this spring :73 is'bent to hook over the member 69 as indicated at M. A'single convolutionor eyelet 75 is formed in the lower arm of the member 67 at the junctionof the portion 69 and is mounted for rotation on the spindle 71 at theupper terminal thereof as will readily observed upon reference to Fig.3. In holding the eyelet 75 and helical spring 73 in'proper position onthe spindle 71 a nut 76 is threaded on the extreme upper terminal of thespindle as will be readily observed upon reference to either Figs. 1-or3. Relative to the normal disposition of this movable grain guide, it isto be observed that the'upper and lower arms of the U shaped guide aredisposed in a common vertical plane passing through the knife 57slightly outside of the edge thereof so that when the guide arms areswung in a manner to be hereinafter set forth, they will urge thegrainstalks against the edge 59 of the knife 58, severing them andprojecting'them onto the elevator. The upper and lower arms of thismovable guide and the bight portion connecting them are bent at rightangles to the major length of the arms as indicated at 77 so that thegrain may enter the throat formed by the knives '57 and 58 withouthindrance. As a means for limiting'the swinging movement of this movableguide member and for affording an additional set of guide fingers orarms whereby the grain is directed into the elevator, this inventionemploys a pair of fixed guide members 78 and 79 which are constructed ofmaterial similar to the movable or swinging guide member and are eachbent intermediate their length to produce a vertical 'leg and ahorizontal leg. The lower terminals of the members 78 and 79 are securedto the forward terminals of the knife blades 57 and 58 by being woundaround the shanks of a pair of bolts 80 and 81 as best illustrated inFig. 1. Burs or nuts are threaded on the upwardly projecting terminalsof the bolts and are brought to bear against the terminals of themembers 78 and 79 to bind them against the fixed knife blades. Thehorizontal legs 82 and 83 of the fixed guide members are bent to producehook shaped fingers similar to the member 68 of the movable guide, thehook portion of the member 82 being arranged beneath the plane of thehook portion 68 of the movable guide member and in vertical alinementtherewith, while the hook portion of the horizontal arm '83 of themember 79 corresponds in its curguides, it may be well to interpolate abrief description of the manner in which the movable grain guide isoscillated in a horizontal plane in the manner above set forth. In thisconnection it will be observed that upon the rotation of the shaft 61the arms 66 of the cam bar 65 operating in advance of the knife 60 willintermittently strike the bight portion 70 of the movable guide,swinging the upper and lower arms of the guide across the spacecomprehended between the blades 57 and 58 against the tension of thespring 73. This spring 73 will of course operate to return the arms ofthe movable guide to normal position in vertical alinement with theknife blade 57 immediately upon the passage of each cam arm 66. It isdesirable at this oint to lay particular emphasis on the fact that thismovable grain guide is of utmost simplicity in its construction andoperates to positively urge the grain stalks against the fixed knifeblades and to subsequently direct them onto the grain elevator to benext described.

Coming therefore to the description of the grain elevator, this elementof the invention designated as an entirety in Fig. 1 by the numeral 84,includes in the preferred embodiment a pair of sideboards 85 and 86which are angularly arranged with respect to the horizontal plane of theheader frames to dispose their upper terminals in a plane comprehendedbetween the sidebcards of the wagon. A traveling apron 87 is mounted onrollers carried between the sideboards 85 and 86 at their upper andlower terminals and preferably consists of a canvas belt provided with aplurality of transversely arranged longitudinally spaced strips or ribs88. In this connection it is to be noted, how-- ever, that any othertype of traveling belt or apron may be employed without departing fromthe spirit of this invention. The lower roller of the elevator orconveyer indicated at 89, is journaled at its forwardly disposedterminal in the frame member 25, while its rear terminal is journaled inthe transverse portion of the frame member 28 as indicated at 90. Inorder to permit the elevator to be adjusted to any desired angle ofinclination there has been provided an adjustable brace designated as anentirety at 91 in Fig. 3. This brace consists preferably in a U shapedrod the arm terminals of which are formed with hook members 92 which areinsertible in bores or apertures formed in the sideboards 85 and 86 ofthe elevator and are removable therefrom since the member 91 is formedof a resilient steel rod. In practice it has been found expedient toprovide the sideboards 85 and 86 with a longitudinally extending seriesof spaced apertures Which adapt it to receive the terminal hooks 92 ofthe brace 91 so that by applying the hooks to various apertures the inclination of the elevator may be readily adjusted. The bight portion ofthe member 91 is bent to produce a downwardly extending neck which asillustrated in Fig. 4 comprises a pair of vertically extending spacedmem bers 93 and 94c which are adapted to receive the shank of aretaining bolt indicated by dotted lines at 95. A nut and washer respec'tively, indicated by dotted lines at 96 and 97 in Fig. 4 are applied tothe bolt 95 toclamp the members 93 and 94 against the portion 26 of themain frame of the header.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that by manipulating the nut 96the arms 93 and 9% may be vertically adjusted with respect to the framemember 26 resultantly providing for the adjustment of the inclination ofthe elevator.

Passing now to the means employed in rotating the knife the cam and theelevator or conveyer 87, it will be observed that there has beenprovided a. drive shaft 97 which is journaled in the frame members 26and 28 at the rear portion of the main sup porting frame. The outerterminal of the drive shaft 97 extends beyond the member 28 and carriesa beveled pinion 98 which is disposed to mesh with similarly beveledpin- 9 ions 99 and 100 respectively keyed on the terminals of the shaft61 and the roller 89 of the elevator. Obviously the rotation of thedrive shaft will effect simultaneous rota tion of the apron 87, rotaryknife 60 and the cam 65. The lower terminal of the member 61 isjournaled in the horizontal arm 101 of an L shaped bearing plate 102 thevertical portion of which is apertured to receive the adjacent terminalof the drive shaft 97 and is interposed between the frame member 28 anda hub collar 103 carried by the inner face of the pinion 98. A collar104 is interposed between the member 101 and the pinion 99 for theobvious purpose of spacing this latter member from the bearing plate sothat all unnecessary friction will be eliminated. The innermost terminalof the shaft 97 is held against longitudinal movement through the framemember 26 by a pair of collars 105 and 106 arranged to bear againstopposite sides of the member 26 as will be readily observed uponparticular reference to Fig. 41. The collar member 105 is formed with aplurality of clutch teeth 107 which are engageable by clutch teeth 108formed on a slidable clutch member 109. The slide.- ble clutch member109 is splined on the terminal of the drive shaft 97 and is equippedwith a grooved hub 110 which is formed integrally with the member 109and is adapted to receive the yoke arms 111 of a shifting lever 112.This shifting lever 112 is pivoted intermediate its length as at 113 toan L shaped plate 114: and its forward terminal is bent upwardly as at115 so that it may be readily operated from the drivers seat. A spurtoothed pinion 116 is formed on the clutch number 109 and receives adrive chain 117 which is operatively connected to a pin ion 118 carriedby one of the rear wheels of the wagon. In manufacturing the machine ofthis invention it has been found desirable to include a pinion which maybe readily attached to any wagon wheel and the member 118 has thereforebeen equipped with a number of U bolts indicated at 119. These U boltsare passed around the spokes of the wheel and are inserted throughspaced apertures formed in the member 118. Nuts 120 are applied to thethreaded shanks of the U bolts 119 and hold the member 118 firmlyagainst spacing sleeves 120 which are mounted on the shanks of the Ubolts and are interposed between the pinion and the spokes of the wheel.

By reference to the foregoing it may be apparent that the adoption ofthe header of this invention is facilitated by the provision of a.pinion which may be attached to or detached from any wagon wheel.

The means for tightening the drive chain 117 of this invention employs atightening device indicated as an entirety by the numeral 122. In thepreferred embodiment this device includes an adjustable arm 123 and aroller 124 which is loosely journaled on the angular terminal 125 of thearm and bears against the upper strand of the chain. In adjustablyattaching the arm 123 to the header a threaded bolt 126 is passedthrough the elongated eye 127 formed at the terminal of the arm 123 andis projected through the inner end of the frame member 38 as will'beobserved most readily upon reference to Fig. 3.

The actual construction and arrangement of the various elements of theinvention being thus described in detail it now remains to describe theoperation of the various devices when'the machine is employed inharvesting grain.

Briefly the operation is as follows: The pinion 118 is first applied toa rear wheel of the wagon and the header is then lifted as an entiretyto engage the hook terminals of the hanger irons and 11 over the side ofthe wagon. The drive chain 117 is then applied to the pinion 118 and thepinion 116 of the drive shaft 97 and the header is ready for use. As thewagon is driven forward through the grain field the grain obviouslyenters the throat comprehended between the knife blades 57 and 58, beingguided into this entrance by a pair of divergent prongs 128 and 129. Asthe grain passes between the knives 57 and 58 the majority of it will beout and will pass over the inner knife 58 onto the elevator the apron ofwhich, as previously set forth, begins to rotate as soon as the driveshaft 97 is actuated. The grain thus severed passes up the apron 87 andis deposited in the wagon body. The utility of the rotary knife 60 nowbecomes apparent for it has been found that frequently a portion of thegrain is not operated upon the knives 57 and 58 and clogs in the innerend of the throat. Such clogging is guarded against, however. by theprovision of this rotary knife which will sever the choked grainpermitting the movable grain guide67 to urge all the grain ontotheelevator in the manner previously described. As heretofore stated theentire cutting mechanism and elevator may be raised or lowered to adaptthe header for efficient operation whether the grain be long or short.The driver of the wagon may throw the pinions which operatively connectthe drive shaft tothe elevator and the cutting mechanism out of meshwith the drive shaft pinion 98 by shifting the lever 112 to disengagethe clutch teeth of the movable clutch collar 109 from the member 105;After the amount of grain out completely fills the wagon body the headermay be completely removed and mounted on another wagon leaving thefilled wagon in condition for immediate transportation to the granary orshipping-depot. In this fact lies one; oftheprincipal and most importantfeatures of the invention.

In reduction to practice, I have found that the form of my invention,illustrated in the drawings, and referred to in the above description.as the preferred embodiment, is the most eflicient and practical; yetrealizing that the conditions concurrent with the adoption of my devicewill necessarily vary, I desire to emphasize the fact that various minorchanges in details of construction, proportion and arrangement of partsmay be resorted to, when required, without sacrificing any of theadvantages of my invention, as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. The combination in a device of the character described, of a mainsupporting frame adapted for attachment to a wagon body, a verticallyadjustable frame carried by the main frame, cutting mechanism, anelevator for receiving the grain therefrom and dcpositing it in thewagon body, grain guides adapted to direct the cut grain from thecutting mechanism to the elevator, one of said grain guides beingrelatively fixed and being formed of resilientmaterial, and a movablemember for periodically flexing the said resilient guide, whereby thegrain may be periodically forced against the cutting mechanism and inthe direction of the elevator by the said guide.

2. The combination in a device of the character described, of a mainsupporting frame adapted to be removably attached to a wagon body. asecondary frame mounted for vertical. adjustment on the main frame,means for holding the second mentioned frame in adjusted position, arelatively fixed cutting element carried by the secondary frame, arotary cutting element carried by the secondary frame and coacting withthe fixed cutting element, co-acting guide members for the grain, one ofsaid guide members consisting of a resilient wireframe, a

cam member rotatable with the removable cutting element and working inadvance thereof for periodically and automatically flexing the resilientguide member, and an elevator adapted to receive the grain from thecutting mechanism and to deposit it in the wagon body, and meansoperatively connected to a wheel of the wagon for actuating the rotarycutting element and the elevator.

3. A grain header adapted for attachment to a wagon body, said headerincluding main supporting frame, a secondary supporting frame verticallyadjustable therein, fixed cutting elements, a revoluble cutting elementdisposed at the inner terminals thereof, coacting grain guidessuperposed above the fixedco-acting members and each consisting of aresilientvwire frame, each of said frames being longitudinally curvedfor guiding the grain from the fixed cutting members onto the elevator,and a cam bar rotatable with the rotatable knife and working in advancethereof for periodically flexing the first of said guide members wherebythe grain may be periodically urged against the cutting mechanism toprevent clogging and may be forced onto the elevator.

4. The combination in a device of the character described, of a mainframe, a vertically adjustable secondary frame mounted therein, fixedcutting knives carried by the secondary frame, a movable grain guidemounted above the knives, a cam member rotatably mounted in thesecondary frame and engageable with the movable grain guide forperiodically moving the same against the grain passing between theknives and fixed grain guides co-acting with the movable grain guide,and an elevator mounted in the secondary frame and positioned to receivethe grain from the grain guides.

5. The combination in a device of the character described, of a mainsupporting frame, a secondary frame mounted in the main frame, fixedcutting knives arranged in spaced relation to each other in thesecondary frame, a rotary cutting knife positioned adjacent the innerends of the fixed cutting knives and spaced above the same for out tingany grain which passes through the fixed knives uncut, a fixed grainguide mounted on each side of the space between the fixed knives, amovable grain guide mounted on one side of the space between the fixedknives, a cam member rotatable with the said rotary knife forperiodically swinging the movable guide across the space between thefixed knives, and an elevator positioned to receive the grain from thegrain guide.

6. In a machine of the character specified, the combination of grainguides arranged to form a longitudinal and lateral grain passage, amember arranged at one side of the grain passage and pivotedintermediate of its ends and rotary means arranged approximately at thejuncture of the longitudinal and lateral portions of the grain passageto positively move the grain through the passage and engageable with therear end of the pivoted member to swing the front end of such memberacross the receiving end of the grain passage.

7. The combination in a device of the character described, of a pair ofspaced relatively fixed cutting knives, fixed grain guides mounted oneach side of the space between the knives, an elevator positioned toreceive the grain from the grain guide, a movable grain guide, means forperiodically swinging the movable guide across the space between theknives whereby the grain passing through the knives is periodicallyforced toward the elevator, and resilient means formed integrally withthe movable grain guide for periodically returning said movable guide tonormal position at one side of the space between the cutting knives.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of twowitnesses.

ROBERT A. PORTER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

